Black Death is a colorless, tasteless white powder—an extremely lethal poison.
It is said to have originated in the distant East, then flowed from the Free Cities of Essos into the continent of Westeros.
This thing is vicious beyond compare, one of the most terrifying and despicable poisons on the entire continent of Westeros.
Hood quickly stepped in front of the Essosi man.
Right in front of everyone present, he began searching him, his hands moving up and down inside the man's monk's robe.
Of course, Hood had no intention of actually finding any poison.
Because the poison was already hidden in the palm of the hand he was using to "search"—a pinch of white lime powder wrapped in a piece of sheepskin parchment.
Scraped straight off the tavern wall.
After putting on a full show of searching, Hood finally pulled out a small bundle from the inner thigh of the monk's robe.
He raised it high into the air.
Lynn shot him an approving look.
Taking the parchment packet, Lynn unfolded it slightly, and fine white powder immediately came into view.
The lighting was dim.
He quickly wrapped it back up in disgust and announced loudly,
"Do you still want to argue now?"
The monk-robed man's face filled with terror. He screamed, "Impossible! That's not mine—!"
Then he suddenly sprang to his feet, not even bothering to straighten his disheveled clothes, pointing furiously at Lynn with a face full of rage.
"It's you! You framed… framed me!"
But before he could finish speaking, Hood slammed the sword pommel straight into his face.
It was a brutal blow.
Lynn stood right in front of the monk-robed man, watching as the corner of his mouth went from pale, to bruised purple, and finally swelled into a blood-filled lump.
The whole process took less than three seconds.
The Essosi man screamed and crashed back onto the ground.
His swollen lips trembled as he babbled incoherently.
Hood glared at him and barked, "Essosi dog, has no one ever taught you that in Westeros you must show respect to noble lords? Point that filthy finger again, and I'll chop off your dog paw."
The monk-robed man shuddered violently at the words, his whole body deflating like a punctured bladder as he collapsed limply onto the floor.
Lynn raised his head, smiling as he looked toward Robb, who stood several steps away inside his bronze armor.
"So, what do you say, Ser Robb?"
The bronze knight extended an arm clad in bronze plates, spreading his palm. "Hand it over. Let me take a look."
"You know what Black Death does," Lynn asked, his smile fading. "Are you sure you want to inspect it?"
Robb hesitated and withdrew his arm.
At this point, there was no longer any meaning in hiding things.
Beneath the bronze mask, the corners of Robb's mouth curled upward as he burst into a rough, unrestrained laugh.
"Fine. I admit the plan went a little off course. But I did it for Ser Duncan's own good. My count father and that useless elder brother of mine don't know how to recognize true talent. Serving under them as mere guards would only waste the abilities of two knights. Come with me to Storm's End—no matter what, you'd at least be my personal retainers."
Duncan paused for a moment upon hearing this, his iron helm as cold and unyielding as steel.
Yet through the slit in the mask, Lynn could see that Duncan's gaze was astonishingly gentle.
The two-meter-tall giant stepped forward.
He stopped in front of Lynn.
Bending one knee, he knelt on one knee and said solemnly, "Wise and virtuous noble lord, thank you for restoring my honor. Please allow me, from this day forward, to serve at your side as your squire."
Duncan was very tall.
As his more-than-two-meter body knelt on one knee, his eyes were exactly level with Lynn's.
Looking into the determination blazing within Duncan's black eyes,
A look of joy appeared on Lynn's face.
Only by living in such an age could one truly feel the pride and glory that comes when a man who embodies true knightly spirit—standing tall between heaven and earth—looks at you with reverence.
In front of everyone, Duncan laid his knight's sword flat before Lynn. This was the ritual of a proud knight swearing loyalty.
It meant: from this moment on, my sword belongs to you.
Deeply moved, Lynn grasped his hand and swore in return, "My name is Lynn, of the Rothschild family of the North. I swear that from this day forward, you will forever have a place within my family—the Rothschild family."
Thus, Lynn accepted Ser Duncan's loyalty.
Ding!
[Congratulations to the host for acquiring two Hall of Fame knights simultaneously. System reward: double experience points, total of 1000]
[Current experience points: 1030]
[Congratulations, the Troop-Spawning System has reached upgrade requirements]
[Current system level: Level 3]
[Current upgrade experience: 1131.1 / 10000]
Lynn exited the system.
He had already been mentally prepared for the notification sounds.
But when the sound of the Troop-Spawning System upgrading rang out, Lynn was completely overjoyed.
The experience points from Hall of Fame knights could actually be added directly into system upgrade experience.
The system smoothly advanced to Level 3—no doubt unlocking a whole bunch of new features. This was a massive gain.
But wait.
Why did it say he had acquired two Hall of Fame knights at the same time?
Lynn was a little puzzled. Had the system glitched?
At that moment, another figure moved before him. With a crisp clang of steel armor rubbing together, Shi Fu bent down and knelt on one knee before him, speaking clearly and loudly:
"As Ser Duncan's squire, my sword has always belonged to him. Now that he has offered his sword, I too swear from this day forward to be loyal to you."
Lynn clicked his tongue. So that was it—Shi Fu was also a legendary knight. Why had he never heard of this before?
But then again,
Thinking about it, even in A Song of Ice and Fire, many knights who once had glorious deeds were barely mentioned. Across the thousands of years of Westerosi history, many legendary knights were never recorded or widely revered. That was perfectly normal.
Lynn reached out and helped both of them to their feet.
Then he bent down, picked up the swords from the ground, and returned them to them.
The two received them carefully, their movements precise, refined, and elegant.
Robb's expression turned terrifyingly grim—so grim that even the bronze mask couldn't hide his rage.
Provocation.
This was Duncan's naked provocation toward him, and the most powerful response to his recruitment attempt.
Robb's bronze-clad body trembled uncontrollably as he raised his sword high.
He roared, "Guards! By my command—kill them! Kill everyone here!"
A proud man who would rather abandon comfort and head to Storm's End to join Renly and make a name for himself—
He absolutely could not accept such humiliation.
At this moment, his heart was filled with nothing but hatred and resentment.
Behind Lynn, the elite cavalry instantly made their judgment. Dressed as squires, they raised their weapons and formed a protective wall in front of him.
In the center of the hall, the scrawny man and the Essosi monk found themselves caught between the two sides about to clash.
Without a word, they both subtly edged sideways, preparing to slip away.
However, Robb's sword came down swiftly onto their heads.
"Trash!" Robb cursed as he cleanly severed their heads with a single stroke.
Thus began the unavoidable tavern massacre.
...
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Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
"Game of Thrones: Political Life"
"Game of Thrones: Holy Flame"
"The Game of Thrones Upgrade System"
"Game of Thrones: Lannister Kingdom"
"Game of Thrones: Godzilla vs. Dragons"
"Game of Thrones: Ruler of the Deep Seas "
"Game of Thrones The Glory of a Knight"
"Game of Thrones: The Most Powerful Dragon Queen"
" Game of Thrones: From the Elden Lord to the Young Wolf"
"Game of Thrones: Rise of a Lord with the Army-Building System"
(End Chapter)